Mia stealthily unlocked the door to their townhome and scanned the living room. Bright slip-covered pillows lined the couch facing a dark television.

  The kitchen was quiet. Nothing lay on the counter to hint at what was for dinner, which was unusual. Glancing at a handwritten note reminded her that Jocelyn was at a dentist appointment. The weight knotted tight in her stomach loosened. Finally, some downtime, she thought, her book bag thudding hard against the kitchen floor.

  All day, she'd imagined her mom meeting her at the door, saying the school had called and told her everything. Escaping that scenario felt like a win. Mia slid out of her shoes and walked to the fridge. She tapped the metal doors, and a digital inventory appeared. Twelve strawberry yogurts, four bags of carrots, red pepper hummus, 1% milk, strawberries, and sliced turkey topped the list. No leftover stirfry? Neither she nor her mom was good at tracking leftovers.

  Cool air surrounded her face as she searched for a green plastic container. Bingo, she thought, spotting it. A quick lid pop revealed the heavenly smell of garlic and green peppers.

  "Thank you, GOD!" she whispered, shutting the refrigerator door with her bare heel.

  Three minutes later, a plate of teriyaki noodles, veggies, and grilled chicken steamed as she relaxed on a barstool. Mia pushed the food around, considering what people ate in outer space—today had been utterly horrible.

  Some nerdy kid sat beside her at lunch and asked what they were allowed to eat in space. When Mia shrugged, Andrea suggested she and Trevor start cutting out all fast food because their bodies would need time to adjust to freeze-dried peas and dehydrated Salisbury Steak. This made everyone laugh except Mia, who just sat there, light-headed.

  "Mia loves Salisbury Steak," Andrea had said, her mouth full of Cheetos. "Remember you threw a fit when Jocelyn refused to make it for our second-grade class party?"

  "Andrea, why are you a walking record of all the stupid things I've done?" Mia had said.

  "Because I love you," Andrea replied.

  Mia knew it was just Andrea's way of trying to get her to smile, but it made her viscerally ill to imagine herself trapped, eating freeze-dried anything on the way to Mars. How was she supposed to tell her mom she'd been selected and would be gone for over two years?

  Recalling the night Jocelyn balked at signing the parent consent form brought on a surge of regret. Feeling like her mother failed to understand the magnitude of the opportunity, Mia had decided to leave and spend the night with her father. Her Dad, Ken, who'd asked for a divorce six months earlier, had taken Mia's side, escalating things to a point where her mother shut down. For weeks after the incident, Jocelyn gave in to whatever Mia wanted, as if she were afraid to lose her, too.

  Her father's signing of the consent had put her name in the pool of applicants, ending the discussion altogether. Mia wished she'd handled it differently now, imagining her mother's face tonight when she told her. Her mom had been right. Why had she thought any of this was a good idea? Her eyes wandered over the scars on her forearm. That was why.

  Brian had been the reason she'd wanted to cut herself and leave. He'd told her he loved her and promised he would forever, except he'd lied and left. And when he'd left, Mia had stopped being herself.

  At the time, the essay contest seemed a viable way to escape the pain. But now, she could see it was a ridiculous idea. And Brian HAD tried to talk to her today, igniting a rage so hot she could barely answer him. Thinking back to their brief conversation made her cheeks burn. She'd known he would act like a dick- as if nothing had ever happened between them.

  "So you're going to Mars, Mi?" Brian had asked casually, greeting her as she walked into their fourth-period class. "Trevor can't believe it. You doing okay?"

  Mia had smiled, tight-lipped, walking past him to her desk, praying he wouldn't follow. As she sat, she noticed Brian hadn't moved and continued to gaze out into the hall as if his ex-girlfriend hadn't just blown him off. Once tired of that, he walked in and took his seat.

  Mr. Jones arrived a few minutes later and started class, prompting Mia to remember where she was.

  "Don't you think we should congratulate Mia on being selected for the M6 mission?" Brian had asked, smirking in her direction.

  Mr. Jones, breathless and sweaty from racing to make copies, cleared his throat and smiled in a valiant effort to appear delighted for Mia. A brief round of claps and whistles echoed around the classroom. Mia blushed and stared at the ancient black-and-white clock on the wall.

  "Can we have time to ask questions? I don't know much about Mars, and won't be able to concentrate until I get more of a feel for how safe this is."

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  Mr. Jones shot Brian a face, defusing his obvious tactic to delay their lesson.

  "You can trust it's absolutely safe. Red Rock has a perfect track record. Mia and Trevor should have an amazing time!"

  "I hear you, Mr. Jones. I'm sure everything will work out."

  And then Brian held up his hands in resignation while everyone giggled, appreciating he'd tried to get them out of work. Mia had felt bile rise in her throat as she watched him, so loved, so popular. Only his concerns weren't genuine; the goal was to embarrass and unnerve her.

  Mia had sprung to her feet when the bell rang, walking briskly down the hall until a hand touched her sleeve- urgently. Turning defensively, her mouth gaped wide, ready to blast Brian for all the ways he sucked as a person. Instead, she found herself facing Trevor Bell, looking unsure. Her face went hot again.

  "Hey, Mia, sorry to scare you. Can you believe it? Us out of everyone in the entire class?"

  Mia stood silent and clammy in front of the one person who could relate to what she was feeling, and dug her nails deep into her arms.

  "Yeah, it's nuts. Feels like a dream or something. Kind of wish it was."

  Trevor studied her face and nodded, his blonde bangs swooping across his forehead. But before they could continue their conversation, he'd looked past her, distracted. Brian Foster had been running, no, sprinting towards them, knocking into people, and not giving AF about it. Mia glanced over her shoulder and quickly excused herself, leaving Trevor to greet his monster friend.

  The sound of the garage door opening jolted Mia back into her kitchen. She gobbled up the last few bites of stirfry and chucked the paper plate deep into the trash can, which flashed an increase in weight of 75.89 grams. Damnit, Mia thought, hoping the screen that projected the mass of their trash went dark before Jocelyn walked in. Her mom was always disappointed when she ate before dinner.

  Jocelyn emerged from the garage, leaning in to smile at Mia, and set her purse down on their mission-style kitchen table. Her caramel-colored hair, swept back in a messy ponytail, looked stylish paired with fitted jeans, a light grey sweater, and leather flats. Mia thought her mother was a beautiful woman.

  "I'm back," she announced cheerfully, her bright green eyes focused on Mia.

  "Please tell me you didn't eat before dinner?"

  Mia looked up innocently and shook her head. Jocelyn eyed her but let it go, pulling out ground turkey from the fridge and then deleting it from the inventory.

  "It's Mexican Monday, Mi!" she said, stooping down to retrieve tomatoes, lettuce, and onions from the crisper.

  Mia watched her work, browning and seasoning the meat, putting tortillas inside aluminum foil, then carefully placing them in their warm oven. Everything Jocelyn did was caring. An out-of-the-blue divorce had crushed her sweet mother after her father's affair with Jocelyn's ex-best friend. The last few months had brought some healing, but Mia knew how hard it was for her mom to get out of bed each day. How could she tell her she was leaving, too?

  "How was school today?"

  "It was a weird day, Mom."

  Jocelyn looked up from the turkey and furrowed her brow. Mia paused and then glanced up at her mom, who was watching, waiting for a better explanation.

  "I was selected to go to Mars," Mia answered, holding her mother's gaze long enough to see her face crumple.

  "Another boy and I, Trevor Bell. I think you'd remember him. He was the kid who threw up when you went with our class to the art museum. Blonde hair. Tall. Anyway, we both got picked."

  Jocelyn turned away and removed the meat from the burner. She remained silent for a while and then began to cry. Mia slid off the stool and walked over to her mom, wrapping her in a tight hug from behind.

  "It's okay. It's safe, Mom. Don't cry. I hate when you cry."

  Jocelyn turned to face her daughter, who was her exact height, and placed her hands on Mia's face, cupping her cheeks as if she were much younger.

  "Well, this is a shock, Mia. I'm allowed to cry. I'm gonna miss you so much. Is it still just two years? Who else is going?"

  "Ms. Lawrence is going. She's a teacher. A really bad teacher, but I guess she's got inside connections with Red Rock."

  "They're sending three people to Mars for two years?"

  "No. No, it's actually twelve kids. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. Two kids from six different high schools and Ms. Lawrence. Plus, an entire crew of actual astronauts to fly the ship and run everything."

  "Well, why do they need you if they have actual astronauts?" Jocelyn said, sniffing.

  "It's like a promotional stunt or something. I guess they want people to see it's safe to go up there if kids can do it. People living on Mars is the next big thing, Mom."

  Mia leaned into her mother. Jocelyn ran her warm hands up and down Mia's back, trying to compose herself.

  "Does your dad know?" she asked tentatively.

  "No, I haven't told him yet. I wanted to talk it over with you first."

  Jocelyn nodded and let go of her daughter, squeezing her hands robotically, turning her attention back to dinner preparation. Mia grabbed the sour cream and shredded cheese, which she placed on the table. When everything was done, they ate in silence, the kitchen too bright to hide their visual anguish.

  "Are you excited?" Jocelyn asked, breaking the awkward tension.

  "I'm terrified. I don't know if I should go, Mom," Mia blurted out.

  Jocelyn took a long look at Mia, as if choosing her words.

  "It's normal to be scared when you're doing something big, Mia. You'll have to decide if your feelings about not wanting to do this are normal, anxious feelings, or something more. Of course, no one can hold you to that silly contract you signed. You're a minor. They can pick someone else."

  Mia sat stunned. She literally didn't have to go. Why hadn't she thought of that? The fear inside shrank a little. What was she most afraid of? Dying would suck, obviously, but it was more than that. She was too basic for something like this, as if they'd mistakenly selected her because they didn't know her. She'd been unable to shake this view of herself since dating Brian.

  "I don't think I'm smart enough to do this, Mom."

  Jocelyn put her silverware down hard on the table.

  "You're everything anyone could want, Mia. That's WHY they picked you. It's why I threw a fit about you applying. I don't want you to go, but this isn't about me. This is your adventure to take or not take. Never doubt yourself, baby girl. You are everything enough. Believe that."

  Mia looked at her mom. She didn't feel like the person her mother was describing, but she wasn't a total loser either. She had to learn to trust herself again.

  "Thanks, Mom. Let's get this cleaned up. Did I mention Trevor is Brian's best friend?"